Latest news with #admissions
The Standard
19 hours ago
- Business
- The Standard
Hong Kong April retail sales value falls 2.3pc
Local universities admission applications surge after U.S. ban on foreign students at Harvard: Ex-financial chief
New York Times
5 days ago
- Business
- New York Times
Trump Says Harvard Should Limit Acceptance of International Students
President Trump on Wednesday said Harvard should cap the number of international students it admits to create more spots for Americans, undercutting his administration's argument that merit alone should guide admissions practices as it escalates its fight with the elite university. Mr. Trump's comments came in response to a question about the Department of Homeland Security's recent move to revoke the school's ability to enroll foreign students. The college immediately challenged that decision in court, and a federal judge has temporarily blocked the policy. Still, the State Department has since halted interviews abroad with foreign citizens applying for student and exchange visas as the government expands its scrutiny of applicants' social media posts. The shift follows efforts to crack down on universities, including Harvard, over what the administration has said is a failure to address antisemitism on campus. Mr. Trump's has also attacked policies aimed at supporting diversity, equity and inclusion in an attempt to bring academia more in line with his views that white men and those with traditional views of gender are being discriminated against. Harvard has so far resisted considerable pressure from the government to enact changes sought by Mr. Trump to its curriculum, hiring and admissions practices. But the government could potentially limit the number of international students allowed to study in the United States on the whole, an idea Mr. Trump alluded to on Wednesday. Mr. Trump expressed outrage that about one-fourth of Harvard's student body is made up of international students, up from about one-fifth in 2010, according to university data. (Mr. Trump said the figure was 31 percent this year, which appeared to be incorrect.) 'Why would a number so big? I think they should have a cap of maybe around 15 percent,' he said. 'We have people want to go to Harvard and other schools, they can't get in because we have foreign students there. But I want to make sure that the foreign students are people that can love our country.' The White House declined to comment on whether Mr. Trump's remarks represented a new policy. The State Department did not respond to a request for comment. For months, the Trump administration has targeted noncitizen students who have been involved in campus protests related to the war in Gaza for arrest and removal from the country. Many of those students have challenged their detention on First Amendment grounds. Mr. Trump and his allies have repeatedly used the protests to target international students, connecting those complaints to his broader campaign against Harvard. In a social media post on April 24, Mr. Trump said the university had accepted students 'from all over the World that want to rip our Country apart.' In a cabinet meeting on April 30, Mr. Trump criticized Harvard and asked his team, 'And students — where are these people coming from?' 'The students they have, the professors they have, the attitude they have, is not American,' Mr. Trump said. Applications to four-year colleges increased 5 percent this year, driven mainly by Latino and Black applicants, according to Common App, the nonprofit group that streamlines the application process for more than 1,000 universities. For the first time since 2019, the rate of growth among international students trailed growth among domestic applicants. Universities could face significant financial costs if they face new restrictions on enrolling international students, who are more likely to pay larger shares of education costs. Harvard said its application process does not consider a student's need for financial assistance, regardless of nationality. Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Mr. Trump continued to sow doubts about foreign students by incorrectly asserting there were open questions about who had been previously allowed into the country to study. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement uses automated screening programs and intelligence operations to vet all visa applications, including those for students. 'We want to know where those students come,' Mr. Trump said. 'Are they troublemakers? What countries do they come? And we're not going to — if somebody is coming from a certain country and they are 100 percent fine, which I hope most of them are, but many of them won't be. You're going to see some very radical people.' In an interview this month, Linda McMahon, the education secretary, said it was time for American students to rethink whether degrees from four-year universities were necessary, save for those pursuing legal or medical professions. She also said that the administration wanted to learn more about whether potential international students were 'activists' and 'going to be more involved in rabble-rousing.' Asked whether the administration wanted to preserve more slots in college for U.S. citizens, Ms. McMahon said that 'universities can determine that process.' 'We don't want to see quotas,' Ms. McMahon said, referring to a Supreme Court case that rejected the use of affirmative in college admissions. 'That was discrimination, and the Supreme Court said that is absolutely not fair. So we want to make sure that people who come in are coming in on merit.'
CBS News
6 days ago
- Politics
- CBS News
Keller: Putting the Trump administration's claims against Harvard to the truth test
The opinions expressed below are Jon Keller's, not those of WBZ, CBS News or Paramount Global. In the latest salvo of its ongoing war against the nation's oldest university, the Trump administration accused Harvard of "race discrimination" and told federal agencies to cancel $100 million worth of contracts with Harvard. We reviewed the specific claims the administration is making in a letter from the General Services Administration (GSA) and put them to the WBZ Truth Test. Remedial math class "These students can't add two and two and they go to Harvard, they want remedial math and they're going to teach remedial math at Harvard," said the president the other day. "Now wait a minute, so why would they get in?" The GSA letter calls it the "direct result of employing discriminatory factors instead of merit in admission decisions," part of its overall claim that Harvard has not reformed its admissions process in compliance with a 2023 Supreme Court ruling. But the university is enrolling fewer Black students since the court ruled. And Harvard claims that remedial math class was a response to pandemic-era learning loss among incoming freshmen. No evidence has been offered that it's an affirmative action by-product in any way. Harvard Law Review The feds also claim "discriminatory practices have been exposed" at the Harvard Law Review. And in fact, the Free Beacon website did obtain materials documenting a devotion to elevation of non-White voices in the student-run publication. A 2018 lawsuit against the Review, Harvard Law School and Harvard College was thrown out by a federal judge who found the plaintiffs "failed to supply even the slightest description of any member" actually harmed by similar behavior. And at Harvard and other schools, law reviews operate independently from the universities themselves. Two students honored One of the students charged with assault and battery on an Israeli student after a 2023 confrontation at Harvard Business School has been awarded a Law School fellowship. Another was named a class marshal at the Divinity School. The GSA calls that "a clear signal of tolerance for, if not outright endorsement of, student on student violence." But a Boston Municipal Court judge ruled they should not face trial, and do not have to admit wrongdoing. The singling out of those two students for honors - even though the judge ordered them to undergo anger management classes and perform community service - was bound to stir up controversy and seems like questionable judgement. So does using the case to broadly indict Harvard for decisions made independently by two of its many branches. The rest of the letter is a rehash of old grievances and, in the case of the "remedial math" issue, a very sketchy set of assumptions. Makes you wonder if all this is less about facts and reform than political grandstanding.
New York Times
22-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Trump Administration Opens Investigation Into Diversity Efforts at Virginia School
The Trump administration announced on Thursday that it was investigating the admissions system at an elite public high school in Fairfax County, Va., which has been accused of discriminating against Asian American students to favor other racial groups. The administration has repeatedly argued that the Supreme Court's ban on affirmative action in college admissions should also apply to K-12 education. But the court has never made such a statement, and it chose last year to allow the high school's admissions program to stand. The school, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, is considered one of the best in the country. In 2020, the Fairfax County School Board overhauled the admissions process for Thomas Jefferson in an effort to diversify the majority-Asian student body. It did away with a high-stakes admissions exam and instituted a policy to reserve seats for top students from each area middle school. Applicants must also submit grades and essays. Under the new admissions process, evaluators do not know the names or races of applicants. But they do consider whether candidates overcame challenges such as poverty or learning English as a second language. The new admissions system led to a decrease in the percentage of Asian students at the school, and an increase in the percentage of Black, Hispanic and low-income students. Asian Americans still make up the largest ethnic group at Thomas Jefferson, accounting for 60 percent of students, according to district data. Nineteen percent of all students in the district are Asian. Asian American parents and other plaintiffs sued the school system in 2021 over the new policy, saying it discriminated against Asian students. A district court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, but an appeals court ruled against them. And last year, the Supreme Court declined to hear the case, allowing the new admissions program to continue. That case was based on an equal protection claim under the Constitution. The Trump administration has based its own battle against school diversity efforts on a different law — Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prevents discrimination on the basis of race, color or national origin. The administration has repeatedly argued that liberal-leaning schools and colleges have violated the rights of Asian, Jewish and white students, and has tried to withhold funding from institutions that do not comply with its agenda. In a written statement announcing the investigation into Thomas Jefferson, Linda McMahon, the U.S. secretary of education, said the school's admissions system appeared to stand 'contrary to the law and to the fundamental principle that students should be evaluated on their merit, not the color of their skin.' Asra Nomani, the parent of a Thomas Jefferson graduate and a member of the coalition that filed the lawsuit against the admissions system, said the federal investigation 'revives our fight for justice and restores hope to families who have long felt ignored.' After the district eliminated the test that previously controlled admissions to Thomas Jefferson, many Asian American families in the county said they felt officials were penalizing them for encouraging their children to study for the exam. 'Our children have been vilified — called 'cheaters,' 'white-adjacent,' even 'resource hoarders' — for working hard and daring to dream,' Ms. Nomani said. Richard Kahlenberg, a prominent liberal opponent of race-based affirmative action, said he favored systems like Thomas Jefferson's, which are race-neutral but still aim to diversify schools and equalize opportunity. The Trump administration's investigation is 'a classic case of overreach,' he said. 'Of course a student who managed to do well despite growing up in a disadvantaged family or poor neighborhood deserves extra consideration.' Historically, even conservative Supreme Court justices have signaled that they are comfortable with class-based diversity efforts. But at least three justices — Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch — have indicated that such programs could be understood as a sort of backdoor system of racial preference. Conservative legal groups have continued to test various cases that could prompt the court to revisit the issue of diversity efforts in K-12 education. The Trump administration announced its investigation into Fairfax County Public Schools days after a conservative advocacy group, Defending Education, filed a federal complaint against the district. Virginia's attorney general, Jason Miyares, a Republican, concluded his own investigation into the admissions system on Wednesday, finding that it violated Title VI by explicitly seeking to decrease Asian American enrollment while increasing enrollment of other groups. Given the continued federal and state legal scrutiny of such practices, 'it is entirely possible that T.J. will find itself before the Supreme Court again in due time,' said Sarah Parshall Perry, the vice president of Defending Education, using a common nickname for the high school. In a written statement, Fairfax County Public Schools said it was reviewing the new legal documents, but argued, 'This matter has already been fully litigated.' Joshua P. Thompson, an attorney with the Pacific Legal Foundation, which represented the Asian American parents fighting the new admissions system, said the political landscape has changed because the Trump administration has threatened to withhold federal funding from schools. 'The question,' he said, 'is going to be if Fairfax County decides to defend their admissions changes again in federal court.'
Fox News
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Elite Virginia high school's admissions policy under Trump admin scrutiny amid discrimination complaints
One of the nation's most highly ranked high schools is once again in the spotlight over its admissions policies after the U.S. Department of Education announced it would be launching an investigation into the matter. The announcement comes after the state's Republican Attorney General, Jason Miyares, said his office has found reasonable cause after a multi-year investigation determining that Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJHSST), which is overseen by Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) system, operates an admissions process that discriminates against applicants of Asian heritage. "The Fairfax County School Board made clear its intended outcome was to reduce opportunities for Asian American students—and that's exactly what occurred," Miyares said. "These students are not statistics. They are sons and daughters, neighbors, classmates and Virginians who deserve equal protection and opportunity under the law." The controversy began in 2020 when TJHSST made changes to its admissions policies to sensibly promote diversity. This was done through the elimination of standardized testing and application fees for interested students, implementing a holistic review process that considers factors like socioeconomic status and geographical location, and seething aside a certain number of spots for students from each middle school in the county. In response, parents filed a lawsuit against the district, alleging that the new admissions policy discriminated against asian students. A federal district court subsequently ruled in favor of the parents, but that ruling was later overturned by a federal appeals court. The U.S. Supreme Court eventually declined to hear the case, effectively cementing the appeals court's ruling. Conservative Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented and warned of the possible implications the appeals court's ruling could have for other admissions policies at other schools across the country. Miyares has been investigating TJHSST's admissions policies since 2023, concluding this week that there was reasonable cause to determine FCPS was "discriminating against Asian American students." According to Miyares, when TJHSST first implemented its new admissions policy, Asian American students made up over 65% of the school's admitted classes. But over a period of just one year, Asian American admissions dropped 19 points, he noted. "Internal communications confirm that this outcome was intentional. The Board reviewed proposal after proposal until it could guarantee the racial 'diversity' the Board was after," Miyares office said. "And in the zero-sum game of school admissions, achieving the Board's preferred racial balance meant that fewer Asian American students would be accepted." The Department of Justice said Wednesday it would work with the Department of Education to probe the potential Title VI violation, after Miyares' office referred the matter to them for investigation. The Trump administration has threatened to withhold funding from schools over potentially discriminatory diversity, equity and inclusion programs. In a statement to Fox News Digital, FCPS said the matter has already been adjudicated by the courts, which it said have determined there is no merit behind the allegations that its admissions policies are discriminatory. Nonetheless, the statement said the district was reviewing materials from the Attorney General and will issue a more detailed response in the near future. "This matter has already been fully litigated. A federal appellate court determined there was no merit to arguments that the admissions policy for Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology discriminates against any group of students," the statement read. "Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) division leadership and counsel are currently reviewing the documents released today by the Attorney General and will issue a more detailed response in the coming days. FCPS remains committed to providing a world-class education for all of our students."
